the Way of the Turtle

HARD-TRAVELLIN' TURTLE
1 WEEKEND, 4 STATES, 3 RACES
PART 3:
Adams, MA to Vermont to Madbury, NH
(156 miles)
Saturday, February 23, 2008

Chatted briefly with a few folks, then changed into dry clothes and wandered for a few minutes taking pictures. Then it was time to hit the road for the long drive to Madbury.

I started out heading up to North Adams (a town I've gone through for many a race in northwestern MA) and then headed into parts unknown, specifically Route 8 across the border into Vermont. What a gorgeous drive! There were many places where I wanted to stop and take pictures, but there unfortunately was no way to pull safely off the road... even if there was a shoulder, it was buried under snowbanks almost as tall as my car.

I took Route 9 across southern Vermont - again, more beautiful scenery and little opportunity to stop. Lost the sun to some grey clouds for a bit, but it reappeared before too long. I made a brief stop at a viewpoint outside of Marlboro, and passed several parks and recreation areas which I really would have liked to have seen if (1) the access roads had been plowed, and (2) I wasn't on my way to another race.

Eventually I crossed over the border into New Hampshire, and stopped almost immediately at a shopping center in Keene, both to snag some food and to visit the local Borders. Ended up purchasing a nice little local guide to the Wapack Trail before setting out on Route 9 again for my drive across New Hampshire. Lots more beautiful scenery, couple with mild aggravation that I couldn't stop and explore a bit. I definitely want to come back to this part of New England!

Eventually I found myself in the small town of Madbury, which ironically is not that far from Portsmouth, NH - the first town in NH we ran through during last year's Eastern States 20 Mile Road Race. Greylock had finished pretty early, and I hadn't stopped much along the way, so I was extremely early - they weren't even ready to check people in yet, though they were in the process of getting set up. One plus to arriving early - I ended up with a nice parking spot, only a short distance from the start and finish of the race.

Wandered around a bit taking pictures while there was still light, then changed clothes - by the time I was done I was able to check in. Then I went and sat in the car (it was too chilly to hang around outside for an hour) and read the book I'd brought along (an omnibus of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials) while I waited for the evening's event to begin.

JMH